A Fast 7

November 7th, 2009 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (9 Comments)

Yesterday during a grocery store excursion I was very excited to see young coconuts in produce! I haven’t seen them in ages and when I spotted three of them all in a row, I very happily played Eeny Meeny Miny Moe Get in the Cart and Let’s Go.

My-Mother-Says-You-Are-The-Very-Best-One.

Sweet Young Coconut

With my sweet little young coconut in hand, I got to thinking that coconut water is really good after a hard work out. What a great reason to get out there and bust my ass first thing this morning, wouldn’t you agree?

A Day of Calorie Counting

November 4th, 2009 | Posted by Alison Spath in Motivation - (23 Comments)

Today’s day of calorie counting began with a freezing bike ride to the gym. Well, actually it was 33 degrees so I guess it wasn’t exactly freezing. I’m such an exaggerator sometimes.

30 minutes on the treadmill with some speed work intervals (4 two minute sets at 9.3) thrown in to keep things interesting – a total of about 4 miles. I noted today what the calorie total said and it was about 450.

Treadmill dues paid, followed by a Very Cold (but this time welcome!) ride home for my first calories of the day.

Make Your Own MamaBars

November 2nd, 2009 | Posted by Alison Spath in Short or Sweet - (19 Comments)

When I made Averie’s RAWking chocolate donut holes last week, I got to thinking that these were basically homemade Larabars. They were really good – and they were chocolate! I don’t know about you, but the chocolate Larabars leave much to be desired. I think I can do a little better. Wait, I DID do a little better! (Thank you Averie.)

Are you smelling what I’m smelling?

I’m gonna make me some MamaBars.

The only thing is, I’m kind of curious to know how many calories might be in a MamaBar versus a Larabar. I was in the mood for a little project tonight so I got to work.

Recalibration

November 1st, 2009 | Posted by Alison Spath in Motivation - (18 Comments)

I’ve had one thing on the agenda for today: Recalibration.

After a week of brownie sundae’s, Halloween party goodies and Kit Kats, I channeled Brendan and Natalia today to help me fend off the sugar cravings that have started to try and sneak up to hit me on the head with a lead pipe, in the kitchen, by Colonel Mustard.

Oh no you don’t sugar. Nice try. I’ve got the dream team on my side!

My Boyfriend’s Back

October 21st, 2009 | Posted by Alison Spath in Good Reads - (26 Comments)

It’s been a while since I’ve written on and on about Brendan Brazier, hasn’t it? Well, my boyfriend’s back and you’re gonna be in trouble.

I’m not sure how I feel about referring to Brendan as my boyfriend in one sentence followed by a photo of a knife pointed in his general direction a moment later. Someone cue the Psycho music.

Chopped Apples

Today I put together another Thrive inspired breakfast based on Brendan’s Toasted Apple Cinnamon Cereal recipe.

Turn It Up

October 9th, 2009 | Posted by Alison Spath in Breakfast - (13 Comments)

A typical Friday morning, a typical Friday morning run. I considered waiting to run until this afternoon since the girls will be off with Aunt Ellen for the day, but the blasted weather man is calling for rain so I went out early to beat feet to beat the rain drops.

Today when I was cruising along to a playlist instead of a podcast or audio book, I remembered something Brendan Brazier talks about in Thrive.

Thrive Review

October 1st, 2009 | Posted by Alison in Good Reads - (17 Comments)

Over the summer I was sent Thrive to read and review on the blog. I read it over the course of a few weeks and have written previously about how I’ve incorporated the concepts from Thrive into my life and with regards to training for the half marathon this summer.

Thrive Book Review

Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life was written by Brendan Brazier, a professional Ironman triathlete. In Thrive, Brendan describes how a vegan and largely raw diet can help you lose weight, reduce your biological age, improve sleep, increase energy and eliminate food cravings.

Saturday Madness

September 19th, 2009 | Posted by Alison in Party Time - (18 Comments)

A Saturday full of non-stop action!

I woke up this morning to a balmy 47 degrees and decided to post pone my bike ride for this afternoon when it was a bit warmer.

Instead I warmed my hands with a pot of green tea.

Pot of Green Tea

And warmed my soul with a bowl of banana chocolate fruit cereal.

Banana Cereal at Desk

Zak had plans this morning so I schlepped the girls into the car and we ran off to run some errands late morning into the early afternoon.

I hit the Thrive jackpot at the natural food store today!

Let’s Play Brendan Says

September 14th, 2009 | Posted by Alison in Motivation - (27 Comments)

I’m still smiling after yesterday’s half marathon – even waking up with sore back muscles and quads, I think this smile is permanently affixed to my face for the next few days. Thanks for all the heart warming comments and congrats yesterday!

I got up early this morning to tend to things around the house. I’m loving this new routine, it’s working so well. I’m raring to go first thing in the morning and have been very productive in the early mornings recently.

Ready for my “Brendan Says” for today?

Half Marathon Race Recap

September 13th, 2009 | Posted by Alison in Fitness - (49 Comments)

I’m going to spoil the ending by jumping ahead and saying right at the start that today was probably one of the best runs of my entire life.

The day started at 4:55 AM when I woke up a half hour before my alarm was supposed to go off. I slept like a rock and felt great when I woke up. I called Shawn at 5:30 to make sure he was awake and moving around.

Shawn and I went over our strategy last night, but I was still feeling unsure about our approach this morning. Fast at the beginning? If so, how fast? Save it all for the end? How much do I hold back? Maintain a steady pace throughout?